natedog0027's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
foxo_cube's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I had a lot of fun reading this, but it feels a bit rushed. That's the short version!
My friend and I play video games once a week and we played through the Halo series - it was a childhood favourite of theirs, and I'd never played it before. I didn't expect to become SO invested in it!! I adore the series more than I could have anticipated - I'm not exactly a huge sci-fi person, usually.
As a result, having some background on the SPARTAN project and our good friend, John-117 (or as I call him, inventively, John Halo) was great. I found the timeline jumping around a bit confusing to begin with, but when I got used to it - or maybe when the story began to flow better, not sure if it was a me thing or the book - it was no issue.
I think John gets treated as a faceless everyman sooomewhat unfairly, generally speaking. He <i>is</i> deliberately a stand-in for the player, but I do enjoy the bit of personality we see in-game - his humour, his love for Cortana, and his complete dedication to whatever task he's given (which, in the context of, well, essentially his entire life, is really rather tragic). This book builds upon all of those things really brilliantly. The short version is that [slaps John on the back] this bad boy can fit SO much trauma!
The framing of the SPARTAN programme and the character of Dr. Halsey is really interesting. Although we see a lot of <i>her</i> perspective and that of the Spartans themselves, the story doesn't actually seem to excuse the moral awfulness itself. Hell, even Halsey sometimes wonders if what she's doing is right, but she strongly believes in what is ultimately a eugenicist's wet dream, especially when the conflict with the Covenant arises - even if that is serendipitous, honestly, and the Spartans were originally just to "calm down" rebellions on Reach and the human colonies. Her stand-in as a maternal figure for the Spartans is twisted but still sometimes manages to be endearing: she does genuinely love them all so much, but ultimately, they're a science project for her.
I do think one of my favourite aspects of the series is how UNSC and the Covenant are two sides of the same coin: totally different at first glance, but more similar than either faction would ever want to acknowledge.
Of course, all my ramblings aside, most of this book is cool sci-fi action stuff. The training of the Spartans is harsh and, through trauma and close proximity, they become bonded to each other in a way that's adorable and also really rather sad. The rest of the military think they're freaks - especially ODSTs, a hardcore branch of the Marines that all have the vibes of someone who'd wear one of those t shirts with a fiery skull on it and it says something like "Don't mess with a guy who was born in August, eats scrambled eggs for breakfast, and loves Dachshunds". They aren't exactly well-socialised because they're trained for nothing but combat and unwavering obedience to UNSC in the first place. It's no wonder only they can understand each other, and the action sequences show how they work together really well.
The issue with the book, as I mentioned briefly earlier, is that it feels a little rushed. There are stupid, stupid consistency errors that should have been smoothed in early editing, and the pacing can be kind of all over the place. When it's going, it's <i>going</i>, but there are lulls in the plot that didn't keep my attention so well. A little personal thing that I'd have liked, as well, is to have Covenant character perspectives - but I'm just a big fan of the aliens, so, you know.
For a fan of Halo, this is a good bit of backstory with a load of action and fleshing out of the characters we see in-game. Is it ground-breaking literature? No. But what did you expect from a Halo book, honestly.
My friend and I play video games once a week and we played through the Halo series - it was a childhood favourite of theirs, and I'd never played it before. I didn't expect to become SO invested in it!! I adore the series more than I could have anticipated - I'm not exactly a huge sci-fi person, usually.
As a result, having some background on the SPARTAN project and our good friend, John-117 (or as I call him, inventively, John Halo) was great. I found the timeline jumping around a bit confusing to begin with, but when I got used to it - or maybe when the story began to flow better, not sure if it was a me thing or the book - it was no issue.
I think John gets treated as a faceless everyman sooomewhat unfairly, generally speaking. He <i>is</i> deliberately a stand-in for the player, but I do enjoy the bit of personality we see in-game - his humour, his love for Cortana, and his complete dedication to whatever task he's given (which, in the context of, well, essentially his entire life, is really rather tragic). This book builds upon all of those things really brilliantly. The short version is that [slaps John on the back] this bad boy can fit SO much trauma!
The framing of the SPARTAN programme and the character of Dr. Halsey is really interesting. Although we see a lot of <i>her</i> perspective and that of the Spartans themselves, the story doesn't actually seem to excuse the moral awfulness itself. Hell, even Halsey sometimes wonders if what she's doing is right, but she strongly believes in what is ultimately a eugenicist's wet dream, especially when the conflict with the Covenant arises - even if that is serendipitous, honestly, and the Spartans were originally just to "calm down" rebellions on Reach and the human colonies. Her stand-in as a maternal figure for the Spartans is twisted but still sometimes manages to be endearing: she does genuinely love them all so much, but ultimately, they're a science project for her.
I do think one of my favourite aspects of the series is how UNSC and the Covenant are two sides of the same coin: totally different at first glance, but more similar than either faction would ever want to acknowledge.
Of course, all my ramblings aside, most of this book is cool sci-fi action stuff. The training of the Spartans is harsh and, through trauma and close proximity, they become bonded to each other in a way that's adorable and also really rather sad. The rest of the military think they're freaks - especially ODSTs, a hardcore branch of the Marines that all have the vibes of someone who'd wear one of those t shirts with a fiery skull on it and it says something like "Don't mess with a guy who was born in August, eats scrambled eggs for breakfast, and loves Dachshunds". They aren't exactly well-socialised because they're trained for nothing but combat and unwavering obedience to UNSC in the first place. It's no wonder only they can understand each other, and the action sequences show how they work together really well.
The issue with the book, as I mentioned briefly earlier, is that it feels a little rushed. There are stupid, stupid consistency errors that should have been smoothed in early editing, and the pacing can be kind of all over the place. When it's going, it's <i>going</i>, but there are lulls in the plot that didn't keep my attention so well. A little personal thing that I'd have liked, as well, is to have Covenant character perspectives - but I'm just a big fan of the aliens, so, you know.
For a fan of Halo, this is a good bit of backstory with a load of action and fleshing out of the characters we see in-game. Is it ground-breaking literature? No. But what did you expect from a Halo book, honestly.
sergeantdoc's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Fast paced and a quick read, still my favorite Halo book of all time.
vycee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
I haven't read this book since back in 2001 when it originally came out. I always wasn't sure if it was a book remembered with nostalgic glasses of reading it as a teen or if it was actually as good as I recalled. To my delight this was a great book on re read and I found it to be a very good Sci Fi book, especially for something written about a video game. I had forgotten how tragic Master Chief's backstory was, how absolutely scary the Covenant are, and just how much backstory there was hidden in this first person shooter's universe. Ever since the scene of the first fight with a Covenant ship in space I knew this was going to be a well enjoyed read. I look forward to continuing on with my re read of the original three books even if the author does change for a book and eventually continuing on to the books after that I have not read yet.
bookswithbets's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mitis's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Son solo disparos pero es entretenido
snolet's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mitchyfrost's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
irenev's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
My son plays Halo and he would talk about it so I read the book. I have to say it’s actually not that bad. I don’t know anything about the games and barely knew anything about the world however this gave me a better understanding. I can honestly say I am a Halo fan! I probably don’t know how to play the Xbox game but I’ll have my son show me. Moving on to book #2.